5,497 Valley businesses and institutions do not have employees (Source: Canada Business Counts, Statistics Canada, December 2017)

55% of Valley establishments are in the private services sector, 30% are in the goods sector, 10% are in the public services sector (Source: Canada Business Counts, Statistics Canada, December 2017)

industries with the most businesses and institutions in this region are: wholesale and retail, with 16%; construction, with 15%, and other services, with 11% (Source: Canada Business Counts, Statistics Canada, December 2017)

agricultural enterprises make up a larger share (8%) of businesses and institutions in the Annapolis Valley than in any other region of Nova Scotia

53% of Valley establishments have fewer than five employees and 98% have up to 100 employees

825 job postings were unfilled (“vacant”) in the first quarter of 2018 – an increase of 110 compared with the first quarter of 2017

the vacancy rate of 2.2% climbed from 1.9% in the same quarter in 2017